Senior Solicitor - Fill My Vacancy : Job Details

Background to our ciient's organisation

Our client is the people and homes charity in Wales and works for the prevention of homelessness, the improvement of housing conditions, and the right of everyone to a safe, suitable and affordable home.

They understand the damage that bad housing causes. Every day they deal with the effect it has on people's lives.

Their 2025 Vision

They have an ambitious vision that by 2025 the organisation will:

• Help more people to find long- term solutions. They want to help more people experiencing or facing homelessness, or living in unsuitable homes, to find long-term solutions to the problems they face

• Fight for good homes. Their policy, research, campaigning and lobbying will focus on structural drivers of need, evidenced by their casework, and underpinned by recognition of home as the foundation of people’s personal, social and economic lives and their health and wellbeing

• Build their resilience and capacity. They want to build a resilient and sustainable organisation that is continually learning and adapting to a changing environment; where their staff, and the people they exist to serve, feel valued and empowered.

Background to post

The Senior Solicitor post is expected to provide a wide range of legal services and support for people in housing need and for their staff, including litigation, second tier advice and policy work. The post takes direct line management responsibility for a small Legal Services team. The Legal Services team provides specialist legal advice on all areas of housing law to our client’s network of housing advice services. Specific areas of work include:

Representation

The Team enables homeless people or those with housing problems to enforce their existing rights. This involves carrying out representation on behalf of individual clients, through certificated work and taking on test cases which impact on the work of the housing advice service and projects.

Information

The Team provides up-to-date information on changes in legislation and case law by writing update briefings and articles for them and other publications.

Policy, Campaigns & Training

The Team works with other parts of them to advise our client’s policy and campaigns work of relevant legal changes and their implications, as well as contributing to the delivery of internal and external training courses on all aspects of housing law.

Targeted Litigation

The organisation has a strategic aim to undertake more targeted litigation, whereby litigation and campaigning and lobbying are used together to address poor practice. This may involve calling on expertise in other areas of overlapping law. The post holder will be expected to take a lead role in this emerging way of working.

Job summary/purpose

Main Duties

Managing the Legal Services Team

1.1 Provide day-to-day management for the national Legal Services Team which will involve: leading the recruitment of new staff to the team; work planning and allocation; checking and evaluating work undertaken; undertaking case supervision and performance review meetings; identifying training needs; identifying and dealing with day-to-day staffing issues e.g., absence management, performance and conduct issues; providing formal supervision to trainee solicitors.

1.2 Set and monitor the annual targets, operational plans and produce relevant reports for the Legal Services Team in consultation with the Head of Housing Services and other team members.

1.3 Set and monitor the annual budget of income and expenditure for the Legal Services Team in consultation with the Head of Housing Services, the finance team and other team members as appropriate.

1.4 Ensure that all legal work, office procedures and financial procedures undertaken by the team comply with the professional requirements of the Law Society, Legal Aid Agency and the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and with the requirements of the Specialist Quality Mark, set out in our client’s casework standards.

Casework

1.5 Maintain an active caseload, including litigation, which enables homeless people or those with housing problems to enforce their existing rights. This may involve taking cases to judicial review and targeted litigation approaches.

1.6 Keep proper case files and other records in the agreed format for all enquiries, support and advice given and ensure they are up-to-date and accessible to colleagues.

2.0 General

2.1 To support the work of volunteers and other placements as requested.

2.2 Participate as and when required in team and one-to-one meetings, and undertake, as appropriate, courses/training/other developmental activities, relevant to the role.

2.3 Ensure, in the course of employment, complete confidentiality is maintained in respect of the Charity, its dealings, transactions, affairs and all other information relating to clients, participants, associates, staff and other subsidiaries etc.

2.4 Keep up to date with developments within the company and other sector-wide practices, that influence the day-to-day activities within the role, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and any other relevant internal/external factor(s).

You will be subject to a performance review which will incorporate a review of the above duties and performance over the period.

As the post may involve working with vulnerable people, your employment will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Scheme check.

Core competencies

Listed below are our client’s core competencies. Each competency provides a list ofpositive behavioural indicators which they believe best describe what good performance looks like.

Staff are expected to complete their own personal administration requirements on time and accurately. Also, when required, to provide timely information for team or project reports.

Please return your completed application by email

An application form and guidelines can be found online on their website.